Controlled nuclear fusion has been a goal of scientists for several decades with billions of dollars spent to develop such an energy resource. Most systems seek to ignite fusion by confining a fusile fuel either through magnetic confinement or inertial confinement. The confinement of charged particles, the presence of instabilities, and the large amount of energy required to sustain the reacting system at high temperatures all make this one of the most challenging world-wide efforts. Many different configurations have been proposed and tested, but no energy and cost efficient reactors have been realized to date.
For example, ongoing experiments put on by the National Ignition Facility (NIF), located at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, have attempted to achieve fusion using laser focusing, which uses rays of light to heat a target to fusion. This process does not use an ion beam. Instead, electromagnetic radiation is aimed at a target that includes a capsule containing hydrogen gas of deuterium and tritium in pellet form. Precise timing and coordination of the laser light's incidence on the target capsule is required to prevent disruptive instabilities from forming in the fusion reaction.
Furthermore, previous work and research in this field was performed by inventors of this patent, Eric Thomas and Demitri Hopkins. This previous technology used a linear ion beam aimed at a heavy-water ice target to induce sublimation and provide the deuterium needed for fusion, with the ion beam focused by non-moving electrostatic lenses.
The state of the art also includes the use of electrostatic lenses in a field called “ion optics”, where electrostatic potentials are created with electrostatic lenses to focus or broaden the spray of ions for different purposes (e.g., for use in scanning electron microscopes). It further includes magnetic coil wrappings, such as Helmholtz coils. Finally, previous art also includes the camera shutter, which is used to control the amount of light entering a camera.